Red Skies
by babyvagabond
Summary: Redpaw is the subject of a prophecy- one his clanmates tell him nothing about. If he is destined to be a great warrior and save the forest, why does he long so badly to be a medicine cat? Will he ever live up to his family's expectations of him? And what advice will his best friend, a young ShadowClan apprentice, have for him? Will he truly ever be able to fulfill his destiny?
1. Allegiances

**RiverClan**

Leader: Fuzzystar - small black she-cat with yellow eyes

Deputy: Blacktalon - huge black tom with blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Cherryshade - black torbie she-cat with green eyes

Warriors:

Puddlefoot - large black tom with blue eyes

Softlight - light gray she-cat with green eyes

Duckfoot - brown tabby tom with green eyes

Shrewpelt - black tom with yellow eyes

Newtfur - black tom with yellow eyes

Mosscloud - calico she-cat with green eyes

Shellheart - white she-cat with green eyes

-Goldfinchpaw

Brindleheart - gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentices:

Goldfinchpaw - yellow tabby she-cat with green eyes

Queens:

Roseheart - silver torbie she-cat with green eyes

Kits:

Stormykit - dark silver tom with cloudy tabby stripes and dark blue eyes

Redkit - small red tabby tom with green eyes

Elders:

Hawkspirit - brown tabby tom with green eyes

Ashbreeze - gray she-cat with green eyes

 **ThunderClan**

Leader: Flowerstar- silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

-Copperpaw

Deputy: Duskpelt- gray tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Fernleaf- brown tabby tom with green eyes

Warriors:

Petalfang- pale blue she-cat with amber eyes

Willowstep- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

-Sagepaw

Cloudysky- gray and white tom with blue eyes

Leafstrike- piebald brown tabby tom with green eyes

-Ravenpaw

Brackenfang- brown tabby tom with green eyes

Flowersong- white she-cat with green eyes

Shiningbird- gray tom with green eyes

Brindlefoot- gray tabby tom with green eyes

Apprentices:

Ravenpaw: gray she-cat with green eyes

Sagepaw: white tom with green eyes

Copperpaw: gray tom with amber eyes

Queens:

Lilypool- pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Crookedtail- piebald silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Kits:

Cherrykit- gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes (Lilypool/Brindlefoot)

Hazelkit- silver tabby she-kit with amber eyes (L/B)

Dapplekit- gray mottled tom with green eyes (L/B)

Elders:

Loudthroat- gray tom with green eyes

Mothstripe- brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Spiderfoot- brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Palehawk- cream she-cat with amber eyes

 **WindClan**

Leader: Daisystar- white she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Hawkstripe - brown lynx point tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Cloudheart- white she-cat with green eyes

Warriors:

Marigoldpelt - yellow tabby tom with green eyes

Goldenfall - yellow tabby she-cat with green eyes

Swiftmask - black and white tom with amber eyes

Mothshade - black she-cat with green eyes

Runningfeather - ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

Foxstrike - russet tabby tom with green eyes

Finchwhisker - brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Queens:

Birdclaw - light gray and white she-cat with blue eyes

Kits:

Ivykit - gray and white bicolor tom with blue eyes (Birdclaw/Hawkstripe)

Mothkit - brown lynx point she-cat with blue eyes(B/H)

Elders:

Bluepelt - blue-gray she-cat with green eyes

Slatebelly - gray tabby tom with amber eyes (55)

 **ShadowClan**

Leader: Hollystar - black she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Appleflower - red tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Maplespots - brown spotted tom with green eyes

Warriors:

Redgorse - russet tom with amber eyes

Dawnstrike - russet she-cat with amber eyes

-Pinepaw

Jaggedleap - gray tom with blue eyes

Silverscar - gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Toadbelly - black tom with amber eyes

-Weaselpaw

Adderwhisker - brown and black tabby tom with green eyes

Tawnystripe - red tabby tom with amber eyes

Willowstep - silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentices:

Weaselpaw - brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Pinepaw - brown tabby tom with green eyes

Queens:

Ivytail - gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Kits:

Crowkit - black tom with blue eyes(Ivytail/Toadbelly)

Moonkit - gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes(I/T)

Elders:

Smallheart - small gray tom with green eyes

 **SkyClan**

Leader: Briarstar - brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Deputy: Wildleaf - tabico she-cat with yellow eyes

Medicine Cat: Silverberry - silver tabby tom with green eyes

Warriors:

Emberbelly - black she-cat with amber eyes

Sweetlight - silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Blackfire - black tom with amber eyes

-Yellowpaw

Rowanpelt - red tabby tom with amber eyes

-Softpaw

Longclaw - gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Tigerpelt - brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Cloverstorm - white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

Softpaw - silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Yellowpaw - gray tom with yellow eyes

Queens:

Rainspots - blue-gray she-cat with amber eyes

Kits:

Firekit - black tom with amber eyes (Rainspots/Blackfire)

Palekit - light blue-gray tom with amber eyes(R/B)

Elders:

Gorserunner - brown tabby tom with green eyes


	2. Prologue

Roseheart blinked her eyes open and let out a yawn. She stretched out her back before sitting up and looking around. Wait- this wasn't the nursery!

Roseheart got to her paws and desperately looked around for her newborn kits. They were only hours old, they needed her, they-

"Roseheart," a voice said.

Roseheart looked up, her eyes wide and desperate. She saw a large gray-blue she-cat with bright, blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Roseheart asked softly, her voice shaking with fear. "Where am I?"

"I'm Mistystar, and you're in StarClan," the cat said evenly.

"StarClan?" Roseheart cried.

"No!" Mistystar purred. "You're just visiting!"

Roseheart visibly relaxed and sat down, taking a deep, shaky breath. After a moment, she looked up at Mistystar. "Why am I… visiting?"

"Oh, Roseheart," Mistystar sighed. "We have a message for you."

Mistystar lifted her head and turned her eyes toward the sky. After a moment, her eyes turned glassy and rolled back in her head. When she spoke, it sounded as if many cats were speaking along with her. "Their fate will be determined in the coming storm." Mistystar blinked, and her eyes were back to normal. She gazed past Roseheart, a solemn look on her face.

Roseheart followed Mistystar's gaze. Where there had previously been a swath of soft grass, there was a wide open space. Roseheart could see down, far down to the lake where she lived. She recognized RiverClan's territory and the island where they held gatherings. She recognized the pine forest where ShadowClan lived and the moors of WindClan. She even saw, for the first time, the thick forest that must belong to SkyClan and ThunderClan. She wondered briefly where each camp was, and what life was like across the lake. She blinked in amazement.

"What are you telling me?" Roseheart asked, looking back to Mistystar.

"Embrace the stormy weather," Mistystar said. The large she-cat nodded respectfully to Roseheart before turning and walking back towards the treeline. Roseheart watched the retreating she-cat fade.

Roseheart looked back towards the lake, but it was gone, and so was the forest around her. Suddenly Roseheart felt as if she was falling. She clawed at the empty air around her, and woke trashing in her nest. Her kits squealed in protest at being woken.

Roseheart curled around her two kits and licked their fur smooth. When they had drifted back to sleep, Roseheart tucked them into the moss and rose from her nest. She nosed at their fur and turned, squeezing out from under the bramble bush.

She crossed the clearing and slipped under the thorn bush.

"Cherryshade?" Roseheart called softly. "Cherryshade, I need you."

Roseheart moved deeper into the den, past the empty nests. "Cherryshade!"

"What?" a voice called from the darkness. There was some rustling and a cat came into the moonlight. "What's wrong?"

"Cherryshade, I had a dream."

"Roseheart," Cherryshade sighed. "I know we're sisters, but you don't have to tell me about every dream you have."

"No, Cherryshade, I had a dream. A StarClan dream."

"StarClan?" Cherryshade repeated, more awake now.

"Yes, I…" Roseheart trailed off, looking to her sister with fear in her eyes.

"Tell me about it, please, it's important." Cherryshade insisted.

"I was… In a clearing, in a forest. And a blue cat came up to me and told me her name was Mistystar. She said I was visiting StarClan and that she had a message for me-"

"A message?" Cherryshade interrupted. "What did she tell you, exactly? Her exact words!"

"She said… She said 'their fate will be determined in the coming storm.' And when I asked what she meant, she said 'embrace the stormy weather.'"

"Stormy," Cherryshade repeated.

"I know," Roseheart whimpered. "It's about Stormykit, isn't it?"

Cherryshade didn't respond, but Roseheart could see it in her face. She was interpreting it the same way Roseheart was.

"What am I supposed to do?" Roseheart asked.

Cherryshade sighed and shook her head. "Well, first we must tell Fuzzystar…"

"Tell Fuzzystar what? That my son is the subject of a prophecy? Oh, Puddlefoot! What do I tell Puddlefoot!" Roseheart wailed.

"Shh, shh," Cherryshade soothed, wrapping her tail around her sister. "It'll be okay. Stormykit will be okay. We'll tell Fuzzystar about the dream, and see what she thinks. Maybe she's had a dream, maybe she knows something we don't."

"But if it's not Stormykit, then why me? Why would StarClan come to me?"

Cherryshade slowly shook her head. "Let's… Let's get you back to your nest." she said instead.

The two she-cats walked together back to the nursery, Roseheart slipping in ahead of Cherryshade.

"Stormykit?" Roseheart called softly, looking down into her nest. "Stormykit," she repeated, sounding scared and desperate.

Cherryshade pushed past her sister and thrusted her head close to Stormykit, listening for the sounds of breath. She pressed her ear to his tiny chest, and heard only the sound of her own blood rushing in her ears. She straightened up and turned back to Roseheart.

"No," Roseheart whimpered. "No, no!"


	3. Chapter One

Redkit slipped into the medicine cat den, creeping past the rows of empty nests to the back of the den, where Cherryshade kept the herbs. He inhaled deeply, sniffing at all the leaves and berries. He let out a happy sigh and started pawing through the dried leaves.

"Redkit!" a voice scolded.

Redkit squeaked and turned around to face Cherryshade. "I-I was just looking!"

"With your paws?" Cherryshade purred.

Redkit laid his ears back, head hanging low. "I'm sorry, Cherryshade…"

"It's alright, Redkit. But you know better than to go pawing at herbs."

"I know, I just… Roseheart says my apprenticeship ceremony is today so I wanted to…" Redkit trailed off, looking down at his paws.

"Redkit," Cherryshade sighed.

"Cherryshade, please!" Redkit mewed, looking up to his aunt with tear-filled eyes. "Please, I want to be a medicine cat!"

"I know, Redkit, but it's your destiny to be a warrior."

"Says who?!" Redkit cried.

"You know who, Redkit, Roseshade and I have told you the story a thousand times; Mistystar came to Roseshade in a dream and told your mother that it was your destiny to save the Clans."

"But… But…" Redkit whimpered and started to sob, tears soaking into his fur.

"Oh, Redkit," Cherryshade sighed, pulling Redkit close.

Cherryshade let Redkit rest against her, crying into her fur. She threw a paw over his back and wrapped her tail around them. "Being a warrior won't be so bad. You'll get to fight to protect your Clan, and hunt to feed your Clanmates…"

"I don't want to fight!" Redkit cried. "I don't want to hunt!"

"Redkit!" a voice called outside the den. Redkit's sobs immediately stopped and he curled into Cherryshade, whimpering and shuddering in fear.

Cherryshade looked down at Redkit, then looked towards the entrance do the den. She opened her mouth to call out to Puddlefoot, but Redkit shook his head.

"No, please!" he begged, softly.

"I'm sorry," Cherryshade whispered back.

"No," Redkit whimpered.

"Puddlefoot!" Cherryshade called. "He's in here!"

A large black tom pushed into the medicine cat den and smiled widely when he saw Redkit curled up under Cherryshade's tail.

"There you are, Redkit!" he purred. He picked Redkit up by his scruff and dragged him out into the clearing.

"It's time to get ready for your apprenticeship ceremony!" Puddlefoot said, setting Redkit down.

"Yes, father," Redkit whispered.

"Go to the nursery and find your mother," Puddlefoot purred, nudging Redkit in the direction of the nursery.

Redkit got to his paws and raced across the clearing to the nursery, glancing back over his shoulder to see his father watching him go. There would be no slipping back into the medicine den today.

Redkit found his mother in their shared nest, and she pulled him close, licking his fur smooth. Redkit considered worming away from Roseheart and trying to hide, but he knew that his mother knew the camp much better than he did, and that his apprenticeship ceremony would come eventually, no matter what he did.

"Let all cats old enough-"

Redkit didn't hear the rest of the call, his heart beating so loudly he was sure his mother could hear it. "Mother, please," he whispered.

"Don't worry, Redkit. You'll like being an apprentice." Roseheart mewed, rising from her nest and nudging him out ahead of her. The two cats slipped out of the nursery and crossed the clearing, Roseheart walking behind Redkit to keep an eye on him.

Redkit approached Fuzzystar, his paws shaking as he gazed up at her. She motioned for him to stop just a few pawsteps away.

"Redkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Redpaw. Your mentor will be Blacktalon." Fuzzystar meowed loudly, so the whole gathered Clan could hear.

Redpaw turned to face the Clan's deputy, a huge black tom and his uncle, as he approached. Blacktalon dipped his head in greeting.

"Blacktalon, it is time for you to have another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Patchysky," Blackfoot glanced at Roseheart and Cherryshade at the mention of their father, "and you have proven time and time again that you are strong, brave, and loyal. You will be the mentor of Redpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him. With your guidance, Redpaw will be more than ready to embrace his destiny when it comes."

Blackfoot lowered his head and Redpaw hesitantly stepped forward, stretching up so Blackfoot could touch his nose to Redpaw's. As they pulled away from each other, their Clanmates called out Redpaw's name.

Redpaw stood still, staring down at his paws while he waited for the shouting to trail off. He heard pawsteps and glanced up to see Puddlefoot and Roseheart approaching him.

"We're so proud of you, Redpaw," Roseheart purred, nuzzling between his ears.

"Mother-" Redpaw started, but his father throwing a paw around him and pulling him close cut him off.

"You're going to make an amazing warrior, son!" Puddlefoot purred.

Redpaw hesitated before letting out a sigh. "Yes, father," he mumbled.

Blacktalon pushed past his brother to properly greet his apprentice. "Are you ready to go out and see the territory?" Blacktalon meowed.

Redpaw looked desperately to his mother, and she nodded in encouragement, smiling. Redpaw sighed and gazed up at his mentor, who towered over him.

"I-I guess," Redpaw mewed softly.

Blacktalon turned, gesturing with his tail for Redpaw to follow, and started towards the entrance to camp. Redpaw followed after him, quickly realizing he had to take three steps for every one of Blacktalon's, and he raced to catch up. He met Blacktalon at the stepping stones heading out of camp.

"The stones aren't too hard," Blacktalon mewed, bunching his muscles to jump to the first rock. He quickly leapt to the second rock, then looked back at Redpaw. "Go ahead!"

Redpaw gulped and bunched up his muscles, crouching. He hesitated a long moment before jumping, paws reaching out for the stone. He'd over done it, however, and his front paws slammed into the water. His back paws hit the stone hard, but it was wet, and his paws slipped out from under him, sending him crashing fully into the water.

"Redpaw!" Blacktalon called.

The water wasn't very deep, and thankfully, Redpaw was able to simply stand up in the water. He shook out his fur, although it didn't help much when he was standing belly-deep in the stream.

His ears laid back in embarrassment when he realized what had happened and he let out a helpless cry, "I'm useless!"

"No," Blacktalon soothed, from where he stood on the second stone. He slipped off the rock and into the water. The stream was belly deep where he stood, a few tail-lengths out from Redpaw. Belly deep for Blacktalon and belly deep for Redpaw were not the same thing, however, and Redpaw imagined if he waded out that far, the water would reach up to his ears. "No apprentice can swim before he's learned how," Blacktalon meowed. "Why don't we try that?"

"Swimming?" Redpaw asked, already feeling nervous at the idea.

"You're not a drypaw, are you?" Blacktalon teased.

"No!" Redpaw meowed insistently. The water wasn't what made him nervous- it was the idea of failing that made his paws quake.

"It's a lot like walking. Just paddle your feet! Swim out to me and I'll catch you."

Redpaw nodded slowly and waded deeper into the water. When it came up to his shoulders, he found that his paws didn't quite reach the bottom anymore and he churned his paws. With his eyes shut tight, Redpaw couldn't see if he was doing it or not. He put all his focus into paddling and keeping his head above the surface. Suddenly he felt teeth in his scruff, and he blinked open his eyes to see Blacktalon standing over him. The bigger tom pulled him, helping Redpaw across the part of the stream where he had no chance of reaching the bottom. When his churning paws were kicking up rocks again, Blacktalon released him, and Redpaw waded out of the water.

On the opposite shore, he gazed back to camp, eyes wide. He had swam across the stream! Sure, not completely on his own, but he must have swam the tail-length from where his paws didn't reach the ground to where Blacktalon had stood. Redpaw held his head high, proud of himself for finally achieving something.

"Good job," Blacktalon purred, shaking water from his fur.

"Thank you," Redpaw purred back, also shaking the water from his fur.

Blacktalon flicked his tail and started off toward a thin line of trees. Redpaw ran to catch up and tried to keep pace with Blacktalon.

"I'll show you the borders first. This way is to the ShadowClan border," Blacktalon explained as they walked. It didn't take long until Blacktalon stopped at the edge of a wide clearing. Redpaw could see the lake shore to the left, some twoleg thing stretching out over the water's edge.

"What's that?" Redpaw asked, flicking his tail toward the twoleg thing.

"That's the half-bridge. Twolegs like to stand on it. They come to this place every greenleaf."

"What do they do here?"

"They fish. They hold onto sticks with a long, thin web attached to it, and throw the web into the water, then they pull fish out."

"Whoa," Redpaw whispered. "And where's the ShadowClan border?"

Blacktalon nodded towards the clearing. "Across the twolegplace. They don't pass over it or the thunderpath, so we don't see much of them. Can you smell them?"

Redpaw took in a deep breath, his mouth open to taste the air. "I-I don't know," he admitted.

"You'll recognize the stench better after your first gathering," Blacktalon said, turning away from the border. The two toms followed the edge of the lake, walking on the grassy hill above the pebbly shore.

"Can we go down to the water?" Redpaw asked.

"Maybe on the way back to camp," Blacktalon mewed.

They were quiet the rest of the walk, and soon found themselves at the edge of a river. It was much wider and deeper than the stream they crossed to get off the camp's island. Blacktalon nudged Redpaw to get his attention and nodded toward the lake. Redpaw followed Blacktalon's gaze and saw, out in the water, an island with large pine trees. From where they stood, he could see a fallen tree that acted as a bridge to cross the lake between the shore and the island.

"Can we go there?" Redpaw asked excitedly, looking to his mentor.

Blacktalon purred and shook his head, meowing, "Not today. That's the island where we hold Gatherings. You'll get to see it soon enough."

"Do you mean- I get to go to the next Gathering?" Redpaw asked. The Gathering was only a few days away- Redpaw never expected he'd get to go so early.

"Of course you get to go! You're going to save the Clans, Redpaw, and that means you need to meet cats from other Clans as soon as possible." Blacktalon explained enthusiastically.

"Oh," Redpaw sighed, the excitement draining from him. Right, of course. Redpaw got special treatment because of his destiny.

"We'll have to cross the river to get to the WindClan border," Blacktalon said, ignoring Redpaw's disappointed tone.

"Okay," Redpaw meowed.

"We won't be able to swim here, the current is too strong. You don't want to get swept out into the lake."

"How will we cross?" Redpaw asked, a little more interested now.

"We'll have to use the stones," Blacktalon said carefully.

The stones. Redpaw swallowed thickly and followed Blacktalon down to the bank. Blacktalon leapt to the first stone, then the second, and turned back to watch Redpaw, just like he had before. "Come on, Redpaw, you can do it!" Blacktalon called.

Redpaw took in a deep breath before crouching. He let the breath out slowly before leaping. His paws landed squarely on the stone. He looked excitedly to Blacktalon.

"You did it!" Blacktalon called, purring.

Blacktalon jumped to the next stone, and Redpaw leapt after him with a little more confidence. He landed squarely on the second stone as well. They continued like this until Redpaw leapt from the final stone to land beside Blacktalon on the opposite shore.

"Seems like you've mastered the stepping stones," Blacktalon purred.

Redpaw was feeling better about being an apprentice as they crossed the marshy part of RiverClan's territory. They eventually came to what Blacktalon called the Horseplace. There was a tall structure that looked to Redpaw like thin trees crossing over each other.

"What is that?" Redpaw asked, approaching the structure and sniffing at it. It smelled like trees…

"That's the fence. Twolegs can't smell borders so they build them. WindClan is on the other side of the Horseplace."

"Do we ever see other Clan cats on our territory?" Redpaw asked.

"Not very much, no." Blacktalon purred. "But we may see medicine cats from time to time."

"Medicine cats? Why?" Redpaw asked excitedly.

"Well, the medicine cats share herbs with each other. If ThunderClan is in need of something we have, their medicine cat may come to us."

"Who is ThunderClan's medicine cat?"

"I believe it's a tom named Fernleaf."

"What does he look like?"

"I don't know, Redpaw. You can ask Cherryshade those questions."

Redpaw frowned and let out a soft sigh. "Okay."

"I can tell you about the other leaders, though," Blacktalon offered as they headed back towards camp.

"No, that's okay," Redpaw sighed softly.

The two toms walked in silence instead.


	4. Chapter Two

Redpaw followed behind Goldfinchpaw as they pushed through the bushes at the edge of the island. Redpaw gasped softly when he stepped into the clearing.

RiverClan was, as always, the first Clan to arrive at the island. Redpaw looked around, amazed, at the trees towering above him. There was no area with trees this thick in RiverClan territory. Redpaw gazed up at the sky, where he could see Silverpelt through the leaves of the trees surrounding them.

"Excited?" a voice asked. Redpaw looked up to see Blacktalon standing over him, purring.

"Yes, I think so." Redpaw answered, glancing at the full moon. The sky was clear, which meant the other Clans would be on their way.

"Are you nervous?" Blacktalon asked.

Redpaw nodded and took a deep breath.

"It'll be fine. I'll be at the roots of that big tree over there. That's where the deputies and medicine cats sit." Blacktalon flicked his tail towards the biggest tree, at one end of the clearing.

"Y-you won't be with me?"

"Don't worry. Try to-" Blacktalon cut off, looking back towards the tree bridge. Redpaw followed his gaze, and after a few moments, a black she-cat emerged from the bushes. A red tabby tom was a pawstep behind her, and following them was a group of cats that was too large for Redpaw to properly see them all.

"That's ShadowClan," Blacktalon meowed. "Memorize their scent. Talk to their apprentices." Blacktalon ran his tail along Redpaw's spine as he passed, and Redpaw watched Blacktalon make his way to the roots of the tree. The black she-cat and red tom passed Redpaw, following Blacktalon, and Redpaw assumed they must be the leader and deputy of ShadowClan.

Redpaw watched the group of cats disperse, mixing in with his Clanmates. Groups of cats from both Clans formed, and Redpaw watched the cats talk like old friends. He looked back towards the tree bridge and caught eyes with a black tom who looked about his size. The black tom's ears pricked and he crossed the clearing, approaching Redpaw.

"Hi there," the black tom mewed.

"Uh, hi," Redpaw mewed back.

"I'm Crowpaw!" the tom said.

"Oh, I'm Redpaw…"

"Is this your first gathering?" Crowpaw asked.

Redpaw nodded in response, and Crowpaw's blue eyes seemed to brighten.

"Mine too!" Crowpaw purred.

"Where's your mentor?"

"He's over there," Crowpaw nodded behind Redpaw, and Redpaw turned his head to follow Crowpaw's gaze. Redpaw saw a russet tom with a russet she-cat and a brown tom, who were talking to Shellheart and Goldfinchpaw.

"The brown tom?" Redpaw asked.

"No! That's Pinepaw. It's the other tom, Redgorse."

"Pinepaw? He's as big as the other warriors!"

"Yeah, he and Weaselpaw are almost warriors. Moonpaw and I've only been apprentices for a few days," Crowpaw explained.

"Moonpaw?" Redpaw asked, gazing around at all the cats, looking for a cat that might be named Moon.

"Yeah, she's my sister. She didn't come 'cause she's on the dawn patrol. What about you?"

"What about me?" Redpaw asked, turning back to Crowpaw.

"How long have you and your littermates been apprentices?"

"Oh, I don't have any littermates. But I've been an apprentice for three sunrises."

"You don't have any littermates? Are you the only apprentice?"

"No, there's Goldfinchpaw, but she's almost nine moons older than me."

"So you have to do all the apprentice duties, huh." Crowpaw said sadly.

"Apprentice duties? Oh, you mean like cleaning nests? No, I don't do any of that. Fuzzystar says my training is too important."

"Too important for apprentice duties? Who are you, Firestar?" Crowpaw teased.

"N-no, I-" Redpaw laid his ears back in embarrassment. "I-I'm… Kind of?" he meowed softly. "I d'know if I'm allowed to talk about it…"

"About what? Are you part of a prophecy?"

When Redpaw didn't answer, Crowpaw's eyes widened. "Seriously?" he mewed quietly. "Wait, you can't talk about it. Blink twice for yes!"

Redpaw hesitated before giving Crowpaw two, slow blinks.

"Oh my StarClan!" Crowpaw squealed.

"Hush!" Redpaw hissed, as some nearby ShadowClan cats turned their heads to look at them.

"Sorry," Crowpaw purred. "So, what's the prophecy?"

"I-I don't know," Redpaw admitted. "No one's told me. Listen, Crowpaw, I don't want to be part of a prophecy."

"Really? Why not?"

"I don't want to be a strong warrior, I- I want to be medicine cat."

"Have you told anyone?"

"Yes! I begged my entire kithood to be medicine cat apprentice, but everyone said I was 'destined' to become a warrior…" Redpaw shuffled his paws in the dirt beneath him.

Crowpaw didn't respond for a few moments, and when he finally did, he said, "Meet me at the thunderpath between our territories. My mentor says monsters only use it during greenleaf, so it'll be safe right now."

"Um, when…?"

"Tomorrow at moonhigh, if you can. I promise I'll be there." Crowpaw grinned and bowed his head to Redpaw before hurrying past the young tom and meeting up with his mentor.

Redpaw turned to watch him go, and as he looked around the clearing again, he realized it was absolutely filled with cats. The other three Clans had arrived while he and Crowpaw were talking.

It was only a few moments after this realization that one of the leaders called the meeting to order.


End file.
